I have a wonderful story about this place that I've been meaning to tell for a while. I spent a year studying abroad in the UK and was very fortunate that my family were able to visit me around the holidays. Since it was the first time we'd all be there together we made plans to meet in London and work our way back to Scotland where I was staying. As part of this grand adventure, I purchased tickets to the Red Hot Chilli Pipers for all of us and arranged for our journey to take us through Dunfermline the night of the concert, where they would be playing.
We arrived to Dunfermline by train the day of the concert. We'd been traveling for a while by then, dragging our luggage across the UK on rolling cobbled streets, and were all completely beat. Our final destination was still a few hour's down the line, so we wearily made our way to the concert venue hoping they might be kind enough to stow our luggage until the event later that evening. With the show just a few hour's off, however, the venue was still shut tight with not a soul in sight.
Exhausted and hungry, we slowly pivoted and began the slow slog down the nearest side street hoping to find a place to eat before we had to make our way back up to the venue. Our search took us several blocks away, however, as many establishments were not yet open and the first one we came to was far too rambunctious for us in our present state of fatigue.
Finally we came to Ashiqs. Populated but relatively quiet with subdued lighting, we found a comfortable booth for the four of us and the staff kindly offered to stow our luggage in the back. Soon we were diving into their delicious appetizers and felt the life ebbing back into us. But it had taken us so long to lug ourselves to the diner that I became increasingly anxious about whether we could have a leisurely meal and make it back in time, much less find a place to stow our luggage, again, in-between. Indian food is not fast-food and not meant to be rushed, so my worries mounted as the minutes ticked by, even as I stuffed my face with their savory entrees and felt my mood slowly improving.
Finally we notified the staff that we needed to hurry because we were due at a show. Amazingly, they offered to keep our luggage locked in their store room until afterward. In ordinary circumstances we might have declined, but in that moment we happily accepted their generosity.
So with bellies full and burdens unloaded, we quickly made it back to the venue without missing a minute of my long-planned gift to the family.
There were taxi cabs waiting outside after, so we piled into one and sheepishly explained that we were headed to the train station but needed to stop at the Indian restaurant for our luggage. He must have thought we were nutters. It was around 11pm when we pulled up to Ashiqs and were shortly reunited with our bulky belongings. It became one of our favorite stories to tell of the trip. read more